


Aftershock

by Ambs_Writes



Series: Heroes-Verse (Power Rangers AU) [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Amar a Muerte (TV), Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: A few fight scenes, Dates, F/F, Gen, Group dynamics, Meeting the Family, Mostly Fluff, POWER RANGERS AU, Part 2, SHIELD, and some group development, breif Alpha and Zordon, i'm just too lazy to tag them all - Freeform, the girls parents/families are there too, this one is more focused on the couples
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:14:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24793711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ambs_Writes/pseuds/Ambs_Writes
Summary: It's been two weeks since the Power Rangers first showed up in Angel Grove and saved the city from Rita Repulsa and her monster Goldar. Rita's power still lingers in the area, the Putties show no sign of halting their attacks, and a new group makes their presence known in the city through the tinted windows of black SUVs.
Relationships: Jemma Simmons/Skye | Daisy Johnson, Kimberly Hart/Trini, Valentina Carvajal/Juliana Valdés
Series: Heroes-Verse (Power Rangers AU) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1720078
Comments: 7
Kudos: 44





	Aftershock

“Shouldn’t these guys have faded by now?” Daisy sounded more than a little annoyed as she took out another Puttie. It was early afternoon, two Saturdays after the Rangers had defeated Rita Repulsa in a glorious battle involving gigantic robot dinosaurs and a monster made of solid gold. According to Alpha and Zordon, the Putties should have faded away three days ago but they remained around to terrorize the citizens of Angel Grove. The Power Rangers were exhausted from fighting the same monsters over and over again but they kept on and their city was beginning to look at them with something close to awe rather than the fear they had shown before. 

“Maybe Alpha’s calculations were wrong,” Trini suggested, vaulting off of Juliana’s back to land on the outside of a small circle of Putties and beginning to take them out. 

“They weren’t,” Valentina and Jemma said in stereo with Jemma continuing, “We checked them twice.” 

“Doesn’t matter, they’re here, we’ll deal with them,” Juliana slid beneath two Putties, making them run into each other with such force they were beginning to crumble to nothing before Juliana could even hit them properly. A grunt pulled Juliana’s attention to her left where she found Valentina taking on four Putties at once, oblivious to the fifth one that was approaching her from behind. Juliana’s warning call began but never made it out of her mouth as she was blindsided by a beast and knocked into the rock wall behind her. The impact had her biting lip without meaning too and she tasted the blood on her tongue as her head bounced off the rock. 

“Juls?” Valentina called worriedly, dispatching the Putties she was fighting but not succumbing to the urge to rush to Juliana’s side in case anymore suddenly came into being. These things had an annoying tendency to do that. 

“I’m fine,” Juliana called back as she pushed the Putties that had swarmed her away with an explosive kick. “They’re thinning out now, round ‘em up and take ‘em down.” 

“Aye aye Captain,” Daisy called. Juliana rolled her eyes, sure that Daisy would have given her a salute if her hands weren’t otherwise occupied. Luckily, Trini’s hands were free, if a bit dusty, and she was more than happy to perform the salute on Daisy’s behalf. 

Valentina laughed slightly, as did Kimberly, but Juliana ignored both of them in favor of helping Jemma round the last of the Putties into the group forming at the center of the circle the six Rangers were creating. With the Putties somewhat contained, Juliana called the Power Sword to her hands and made quick work of the remaining creatures until all that was left was a pile of dust blowing in the wind and six exhausted teenagers. 

“Think that was the last of them?” Kimberly asked from her place beside Trini in their circle, her helmet on but the mask retracted so the group could see her face. 

“I sincerely hope so,” Jemma replied, very slightly leaning into Daisy. They had made a group decision to not be too ‘couple-y’ - Daisy’s word - while they were performing Ranger duties, except in the most dire of circumstances, but Jemma was tired and wanted to be held by her girlfriend. Leaning against her was the closest she would get until they got back to the ship so it would have to do. 

“Do you think we have to wash the armor?” Daisy asked, looking at the dust that covered her and Jemma, making them look gray rather than black and white respectively. 

“It’s always clean the next time we morph,” Kimberly shrugged slightly. 

“Anyone else think that’s just a little weird?” 

“We’re superheroes because of glowing coins we found in an old gold mine, we get help from a robot and a wall, and we literally fought an alien two weeks ago,” Trini deadpanned. “I’m just glad having to clean the armor isn’t another thing we have to worry about.” 

“No but that is,” Juliana’s mask snapped back into place as she pointed over Valentina’s shoulder, where a black suburban was pulling up a few meters away from them. The other Rangers followed suit so when they turned, whoever was sitting in the car couldn’t recognize them. “Same one as last time.” 

For the past two weeks, beginning with the clean up of Angel Grove right after Rita’s attack and continuing through every appearance of the Putties since then, a black suburban unlike any other could be found at the scene. Sometimes men and women dressed in dark suits could be seen entering or leaving these vehicles but for the most part, they had stayed in the background. Juliana wasn’t sure if they were tracking the Putties or the Rangers, but either way seemed like bad news. This time was no different, the car came to a stop, parked, but no one came out. 

“Duck behind the rocks and get back to the ship,” Juliana ordered, thankful that these Putties had at least formed right outside the mine instead of the center of town like the last ones had done so they didn’t have to dodge civilians while they left. The other five Rangers followed the order quickly and soon enough all six Rangers were standing in the Command Center with Alpha and Zordon asking them how the attack went. 

“Shouldn’t these have stopped happening by now?” Kim asked, stretching out her arms and then plopping down on the stairs beside Trini as their armor faded away. She wanted to take Trini’s hand but refrained from doing so, unsure of exactly where she and Trini stood in terms of their relationship. They had kissed, once in the heat of battle when they had both been sure they were supposed to be dead and several times since then, but they had yet to have an actual conversation about them, if there even was a them. 

“They are growing weaker,” Zordon stated. “And their numbers lessen. Perhaps Rita is still close enough to Earth to affect them, but her power is draining.” 

“That’s what you said after the last three attacks,” Daisy grumbled, leaning her head against Jemma’s thigh. Jemma idly brushed her fingers through Daisy’s hair. Kimberly watched them out of the corner of her eye, wondering if Trini would ever let her do that. She didn’t notice the way Trini looked at her longingly as her hand twitched towards her, turning the motion into a stretch that left their hands nearly pressed together. 

“Will there be another attack today?” Valentina asked, though most of her attention was on the split lip Juliana had given herself when she had been knocked into the wall. The small cut was already mostly healed but Valentina touched Juliana’s lips gently with the tips of her fingers just to be sure (she’d check the injury again later, in a much more fun way, once they were alone). 

“Got a hot date tonight?” Kimberly teased lightly. Valentina smiled and shrugged slightly, pulling Juliana down with her to sit on the stairs with the others. 

“As long as no Putties attack, I do,” Valentina replied with a sideways glance at Juliana. The date they had promised to go on after Rita was defeated had been wonderful, up until the point that a swarm of Putties appeared on the street they were walking on. Juliana hadn’t even been able to kiss Valentina goodnight on her doorstep since she had to teleport home to avoid breaking curfew. Still, even with the monster interruption, Valentina had agreed to a second date and then a third when that one managed to go through without an attack. Tonight, while technically being their fourth date, was also an important milestone for them. Tonight Juliana would officially be meeting Valentina’s father, brother, and sister. To say she was nervous would be a massive understatement. 

“She’s not the only one,” Daisy interjected, “other than the obvious, of course.” The last part, said with a vague gesture in Juliana’s direction, drew a smattering of laughter from the others. 

“Zordon, will there be another attack today?” Juliana repeated the question, ignoring Daisy’s comment and the laughter of the others even as she leaned against Valentina’s shoulder. 

“I do not think so, no,” Zordon said with a contemplative look, “but remain ready for such an event.” 

“As always,” Kimberly muttered, moving her arm slightly. The motion was just enough to make her fingers brush against Trini’s hand and she froze for a moment. Trini’s hand moved in a way that Kimberly was sure meant she would pull away and she fought to keep the surprise off her face when Trini simply turned her hand over and intertwined their fingers. Judging from the knowing smirk on Valentina’s lips when Kimberly caught her eye, she hadn’t succeeded. 

“At least we’re done early today,” Jemma remarked as the six Rangers began to climb to their feet. “Plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the day.” 

“And to get ready for our date,” Daisy chimed in, bumping her shoulder against Jemma’s. Juliana neatly turned away from Daisy to keep the Black Ranger from laughing at what Juliana was sure was a half-terrified expression on her face. This gave Juliana a perfect chance to see the hopeful smile Trini shot Kimberly, and Kimberly’s answering flushed cheeks. 

“Take it easy tomorrow y’all,” Juliana said as she climbed to her feet and accepted the hand Valentina held out for her. “We’ll pick up training again on Monday.” 

“Aye aye Captain,” Daisy grinned as Juliana rolled her eyes. 

“C’mon Juls,” Valentina stepped in before anyone else could make a snarky comment. “I wanted to see the twins before dinner.” 

Twin beams of light, one blue and one red, signaled that the two girls had teleported out. Daisy and Jemma followed suit after waving goodbye to Kim and Trini, leaving the pink and yellow Rangers there alone. 

“Wanna grab some coffee?” Trini asked, stalling Kimberly in her motion to teleport out as well. “Maybe we can...talk about stuff?” 

“Sure,” Kim agrees after a pause that stretches awkwardly long. “Meet you at the top of the ravine? We can walk to my house from there.” 

Trini nods her agreement and soon enough the two of them are strolling down a well hidden and increasingly well worn path towards Kimberly’s house where it borders the edge of the mountain, next to Valentina’s house. They walk close together, Kimberly hyper aware of the way Trini’s knuckles brush across her own every couple of steps. The small space between them feels like a canyon that Kimberly is dangerously close to falling into when, on the next pass, she flips her hand and catches Trini’s. Their fingers link together like they were made to do just that and sharp breath pushes past Kimberly’s teeth when Trini doesn’t pull her hand away. 

Eventually, the silence is too much for Kimberly and she opens her mouth. “So, I’m not imagining that things are kinda weird between us right now, am I?” Those words weren’t at all what Kim wanted to say but they’re out now, hanging in the air between her and Trini where they had come to a stop on the trail. Well, Trini had come to a stop as Kim finished speaking her question so Kim had followed suit. 

“No, it’s not just you,” Trini was still holding Kim’s hand but didn’t look at her. “I, um, I don’t really know what to do here. I’ve never done this before.” 

Kimberly stamps down the urge to say something snarky about putting one foot in front of the other to walk - mentally criticizing herself for spending too much time with Daisy - and instead says, “What do you want to do?” 

“Kiss you again,” Trini answered without thinking, Kim could see her eyes widen in embarrassment even with Trini still refusing to look at her. “Not in the heat of battle or because I think we won’t have another chance. I want to kiss you for real.” 

“Sounds like a good starting point to me,” Kimberly squeezed Trini’s hand gently, a soft smile on her face as she lifted her other hand to cup Trini’s jaw and turn her face so they were looking one another in the eye. “Because I’d really like to kiss you again, too.” 

“But what about after that? I don’t know if you realized but I’ve never dated anyone before, never been in one town long enough to care for someone like this and I really don’t want to mess it up,” Trini sighed. “I have no idea what I’m doing.” 

“Wanna know a secret?” Trini nodded. “Neither do I. Sure I’ve gone on dates in the past but none of it was real, none of them knew the real me and if they did, they didn’t like her. But you, you’re different. I’m different when I’m around you and I like it. I like the person I can be around you, so I’m willing to give this a try if you are.” 

“I want to, Kim, I really do but I don’t want to lose you if it all goes wrong. I don’t want to lose myself either, not now when I’m finally starting to figure out who I am.” 

“So we take it slow,” Kimberly squeezed Trini’s hand again. “I’m not asking you to marry me, Trini. I’m asking for a chance, just one, for us to take this one day at a time.” 

“I think I can do that,” Trini let a smile smile show on her lips. “But it won’t be perfect. I’m not perfect.” 

“I don’t want perfect, I want you.” Anything that Trini might have said in response was lost to Kimberly’s lips as the gap between them was closed. Kim kissed her softly, cradling her head between her hands like Trini was the most precious object in her world. It was a stark contrast to the kiss they had shared in the MegaZord two weeks ago. That kiss had been one of desperation and fear and jubilation. This kiss was one of promise and wishes and hope. 

“How about we grab dinner instead of coffee? First date’s my treat,” Kimberly suggested when their lips pulled apart. 

“Fine, but the second date is mine,” Trini let her hand find Kim’s and squeezed gently. 

“Deal.” 

They walked out of the woods together behind Kimberly’s house, went around the front and climbed into Kim’s car to head off to what promised to be the first of many dates. 

~/~

Alex and Dani were more than happy to spend a few hours hanging out with Juliana and Valentina, and even more excited to have Valentina all to themselves when Juliana went to her room to change for their date. While Juliana was showering and changing into a clean pair of jeans and a red flannel, Valentina had Alex in her lap and Dani by her side while they read from a comic book that Alex had. 

“Look, they stand like the Power Rangers!” Alex pointed at the superhero on the page, standing in a pose that Valentina was starting to associate with Juliana when they were out in the field, arms hanging loose by their side but tensed and ready for action, legs spread a bit so they could jump into action at any time. “The Power Rangers are so cool.” 

“You think so?” Valentina, trying to keep the smugness out of her voice. Juliana’s siblings were far too perceptive for their own and would definitely notice if Valentina was too excited about them liking the Power Rangers. 

“Yeah! The Red one’s the best because he has a sword!” Alex cheered enthusiastically. 

“How do you know he’s a boy?” Valentina asked, mentally thanking whoever designed the armor that they didn’t some kind of ridiculous raised platform to symbolize that they all had breasts. “They could be a girl.” 

“That’s what I said,” Dani leaned around Valentina’s arm to flick her brother. “Besides, the Blue one is the best!” 

A very spirited debate began, as Valentina had come to expect, and the comic book was forgotten as Alex and Dani both climbed off the couch to greet their mother who had just walked in the door. The debate never paused even as each of the twins gave Lupe a hug and then returned to the living room. 

“Valentina,” Lupe greeted her daughter's girlfriend warmly. “I thought you and Juliana were having dinner at your house tonight?” 

“We are, Juliana’s just getting ready,” Valentina replied as she moved into the kitchen with Lupe. “Is there anything I can help with?” 

“Oh no, that’s all right,” Lupe waved her off. “You should go check on Juli, she won’t admit it but I know she’s nervous.” 

“What makes you say that?” Valentina asked curiously. 

“Nothing in particular,” Lupe shrugged in a way that reminded Valentina so much of Juliana. “I just know my daughter and I know how she feels about you.” Lupe turned to the fridge and began to pull out ingredients to fix dinner for herself and the twins without bothering to elaborate. Once she turned back and saw Valentina still standing there, she made a shooing motion with her hands. Valentina smiled and did as directed. 

She found Juliana in her bedroom, straightening and re-straightening her shirt in the mirror. Valentina paused in the doorway, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the door jam to admire the obviously nervous Juliana. She didn’t linger there long, she didn’t want to make Juliana even more uncomfortable, and knocked on Juliana’s door to let her know she was there. 

“Ready to go?” Valentina asked, shooting a comforting smile at Juliana. Juliana looked back at the mirror for a moment and then nodded her head. 

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” 

“You’ll be fine,” Valentina reassured her softly, taking Juliana’s hand when she was close enough. “They’re going to love you.” 

Juliana nodded and gave Valentina a nervous smile, squeezing her hand once and then leading them back downstairs. They paused in the living room so the twins could hug Val and Juls goodbye, waved to Lupita, and then stepped out the door. 

“You sure you don’t want to teleport home?” Juliana asked, reaching for the extra helmet she kept hanging next to her own. 

“I’m sure,” Valentina promised. She took the helmet from Juliana and slipped it on, letting her girlfriend help adjust the straps so it fit correctly. Juliana then donned her own helmet and mounted her bike, keeping it steady as Valentina climbed on behind her. 

“Hold on tight,” Juliana said with a raised voice so Valentina could hear over the engine starting up. Valentina squeezed Juliana’s waist in answer, though Juliana thought she may not have needed to be told to hold on. 

They slowly backed out of the garage and then, after one more assurance from Valentina that she was ready, they were off. 

~

Jemma had never seen Daisy so anxious. Of course, they’d only known each other for a short time even if it felt like she’d known Daisy her whole life, but those first few weeks had been a never-ending full-stress situation. And yet, Daisy seemed more nervous about meeting her girlfriend's parents than she did when they fought an alien with 65 million years of experience over them. It was probably a good thing that they weren’t having dinner at Jemma’s house since Daisy looked ready to bolt as soon as Jemma’s father answered the door. 

“You must be Daisy,” He greeted her warmly. “Please come in. Jemma will be down in a few moments.” 

“Thank you,” Daisy said nervously, stepping into the house. Jemma, from where she stood on the top of the stairs, watched her look all around like she was mapping out possible exit routes. From what little Jemma knew of Daisy’s childhood, that was probably exactly what she was doing. 

“Daisy,” Jemma said as she made her way down the stairs. Something inside her physically warmed when Daisy looked up at her and she could see her shoulders relax. It was an incredible display of trust that Daisy felt secure enough by merely being in Jemma’s presence helped her to relax. 

“Jem,” Daisy replied with a small smile. If either of them had bothered to look at Jemma’s father, they’d see his eyebrows touching his receding hairline as he looked on in surprise. His wife came in from the kitchen just then and stopped to stare as well. 

The two of them had been worried about Jemma making friends when they came to America for work, she’d never been the most socially apt child in the first place. Their worry hadn’t eased over the first few months they were there and they never heard even a whisper of Jemma having friends. Then, out of the blue, Jemma had not only friends but a girlfriend. Jemma’s father wasn’t fond of the idea of his baby girl growing up so soon, but he couldn’t fault her choice. To have someone who already looked at Jemma like she hung the moon in the sky, like she’d give up anything to make Jemma happy, well, it was more than a father could have asked for. 

Jemma had come all the way down the stairs now and stood next to Daisy, touching her arm for a moment and then letting her fingers trail down Daisy’s jacket until their hands met. Daisy was smiling at her almost like she was awe that Jemma would do such a thing right in front of her parents. 

“Daisy,” Jemma’s mom said, announcing her presence. “It’s so nice to meet you.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Simmons,” Daisy replied, her hand twitching like she was going to let go of Jemma’s. 

“Oh, please, call me Elizabeth, and this is Daniel,” Elizabeth gestured to the man standing beside her. “We won’t keep you from your date long.” 

“We were just hoping we could invite you to dinner, maybe sometime next week?” Daniel smiled warmly, his expression as opening and welcome as Elizabeth’s. Somehow, that made Daisy want to run even more. Jemma squeezed her hand. 

“I’ll have to ask my, uh, my parents,” Daisy hopes they don’t hear the way she stumbles over the word, “but I’m sure it won’t be a problem.” 

“Wonderful, shall we plan for Friday next then?” Elizabeth asked cheerfully. 

“That sounds wonderful, Mum,” Jemma stepped in, squeezing Daisy’s hand again. “We should head out or we’ll be late for our movie.” 

“Of course, of course, please. Have fun,” Daniel waved them towards the door, nodding slightly at Jemma’s thankful smile. They made their way out quickly and Daniel couldn’t help but chuckle as the door swung closed. 

“That girl looked like a deer in the headlights,” he commented to his wife. 

“Oh, give her a break. She’s young and falling in love for the first time,” Elizabeth patted her husband on the chest as she walked by him. “We’ll have plenty of time to let her grow comfortable around us.” 

“What makes you so sure?” Daniel asked as he followed her to the kitchen. Elizabeth smiled at him. 

“A mother always knows.” 

Outside, Daisy and Jemma were just climbing into the car Daisy had borrowed from Phil for their date when their teleporters buzzed on their wrists in a distinctive three beat rhythm. 

“Again?” Daisy asked, the annoyance in her tone obvious. “I thought Alpha and Zordon said this wouldn’t happen again.” 

“It’s not Putties,” Jemma said, reading the stats rolling across her teleporter screen. “We have to get to the ship.” 

“Okay, hold on,” Daisy started the car and drove them quickly, as quickly as she legally could, to one of the hidden entrances to the mines, hiding the car in the foliage. “I was really looking forward to that movie.” 

“You were?” Jemma asked, knowing that Daisy wasn’t the biggest fan of rom-coms. 

“Well, I was looking forward to making out with you in the back of the theater.” 

Jemma laughed. “Don’t worry, we can still make a late showing if we handle this quickly.” 

“I’ll hold you to that.” 

They exited the car and teleported into the Command Center. 

“What’s happening?” Daisy asked Kimberly, nodding hello to Trini who was staring intently into the Morphing Grid. 

“We don’t know yet, but it’s big. Bigger than the last three attacks,” Kimberly says. “We’re still waiting on Juls and Val.” 

“Not anymore,” Jemma says as twin beams of blue and red light appear, fading into the forms of Valentina and Juliana. 

“Putties?” Juliana asks, stepping into business mode without a pause. She and Valentina take their places around the Morphing Grid as Zordon’s head emerges from the wall. 

“These are not Putties like before, they have combined with one another and are stronger than before.” 

“How is that possible? What about Rita?” The question was directed at Zordon but Kimerbly’s attention was on Trini, who was rubbing the faint scars on her neck from Rita’s claws. 

“We can’t know for sure unless we see her again, but it is likely she is still close enough to still influence the Putties. I suspect she is unable to control her magic as well without the Green Coin to balance her.” 

“But we don’t know that she doesn’t have the coin anymore,” Valentina pointed out. “We’ve never been able to find it.” 

“That doesn’t matter right now,” Juliana calls them to attention. “The puttie is heading for downtown, and we need to handle it fast.” 

“Some of us still have dates to get back to.” Daisy muttered. 

“All of us have dates to get back too,” Trini said, louder than she meant to as everyone turned to look at her and Kim for a moment, all of them wearing soft smiles. 

“Right,” Juliana said slowly. “So no time to waste. Let’s go.” 

The six Rangers stepped into their designated spots around the Grid, the energy picking up as their Ranger sense came alive. 

“It’s morphin’ time.” 

~

The benefit of the Puttie attacking this late in the evening was that downtown wasn’t very heavily populated. The downside of any attack right now was that Valentina and Juliana had given a very flimsy excuse of looking for Juliana’s phone in Val’s room to leave during the middle of dinner. Not that Juliana was really complaining. She was happy to be away from the glare of Eva’s older sister, even if the rest of Val’s family had been entirely welcoming. 

They teleported a block away from where the Puttie was currently making its rocky way downtown, and hit the streets at a run. The few civilians on the street paused at the sight of them, still novel enough to seem out of the ordinary. The Rangers raced past, dodging around the citizens who stopped in their path and didn’t think that they needed to move. 

“That’s one big Puttie,” Daisy commented as the creature came into view. It wasn’t as big as Goldar had been but still massive compared to the Putties they were used to fighting, at least three times as big. “Do we have a plan?” 

“Hit it until it breaks?” Trini suggested blithely. 

“Basically,” Juliana muttered. “Surround it, keep it away from any buildings, we go in at once.” 

“That’s what she said.” 

“Daisy, not the time,” Jemma rolled her eyes despite knowing none of the other Rangers could see her face. 

“Focus, y’all,” Juliana called them back to attention, moving her arm in a downward slash to summon the Power Sword to her hand. 

The Puttie had noticed them now and was charging towards Juliana with a roar. Moving in a tandem that was still just a little unnerving, the Rangers dispersed around her, drawing the Putties' focus solely to the Red Ranger. Juliana crouched slightly, bracing herself to jump over the Putties’ fist when it struck out at her. She brought the sword down in a wide arc, slicing through what she guessed functioned as a thumb for the creature. It let out a roar and reacted with an unpredictable series of swings. Juliana managed to dodge the first two but the third one struck hard and knocked back. Juliana collided with the brick wall of a nearby building. 

“Shit, Juls,” Valentina’s voice sounded through her helmet, worried. 

“I’m fine, keep it busy,” Juliana ordered, wondering if she could bruise through the armor. Based on the way her back felt, she probably could. “Daisy, Trini, distract it.” 

They followed the order without question, dodging between clumps of rock and striking where they could as the Puttie tried in vain to hit them. Juliana struggled back to her feet, slinking around the outside of the battle and observing. They needed a way to take this thing out, and fast. 

“Juls, it has a weak spot,” Valentina’s voice sounded again. “On its back, left shoulder.” 

“I see it,” Jemma added in, ducking away as the Puttie kicked. “Can you reach it?” 

“I need a boost,” Valentina replied, weaving out of the way and coming to stand beside Juliana. 

“We can do that,” Juliana took a crouching position again, “Kim, Jemma, help Trini. Daisy, fall back to me and Val.” 

They made the switch quickly and soon Daisy was crouching with Juliana, holding her hands out for Valentina to step into. “On three?” 

“On three,” Juliana agreed. “One...two...three!”

They launched Valentina into the air and landed on the Putties’ back, scrambling for a hold as the creature bucked wildly in an attempt to swing her off. 

“Keep it busy!” Juliana called, racing forward with Daisy to keep the Puttie busy while Valentina scrambled up to the left shoulder of the beast. “Val, hold on. Get to that weakness.” 

“Working on it!” Valentina called back, grunting with effort as another wild spin almost swung her away. Stabilizing herself, she crawled up the Putties back and found the source of the Putties’ power, a rock glowing an unearthly glow. “Juls, do you think you can share your sword?” 

Honestly, Juliana had no idea, but she had to try. She rolled out of the path of fire and concentrated on calling her sword up again, focusing on Valentina’s signature in the Grid to send her the weapon. She wasn’t sure if it worked or not, until Valentina released a grunt and a blast of power knocked the other five Rangers to the ground. The Puttie crumbled to the ground, dust filling the air. 

“Valentina?” Juliana called worriedly when she didn’t see any blue armor through the dust. “Val!”

“I’m here,” Valentina waved her hand through the air, her voice faint and unmodulated. Her hand was bare. “I’m here.” 

“What happened?” Daisy asked, helping Jemma to her feet and then closing in around Valentina. 

“It was powered by this,” Valentina was coughing, her face and body covered with dust and a red line of blood creeping down the side of her face. In her hands, she held a broken gem, green ringed with gold. 

“Rita’s coin,” Trini said, her mask fading away. “That’s what was powering them?” 

Valentina nodded, accepting Juliana’s help to climb to her feet, leaning heavily on her girlfriend with slightly unstable legs. “It was embedded in one of the rocks on its back. That power wave destroyed it and the Puttie when I stabbed it with Juls’ sword.” 

“Why? How did it get there?” 

“We can worry about that later,” Kimberly spoke suddenly, sharply. “Val, can you morph?” 

“Maybe, I don’t know,” Valentina closed her eyes, willing her armor to manifest. It wasn’t as fast as normal, but the armor slowly covered her. 

“We’ve got company.” 

A black suburban was lingering on the edge of the battle zone, parked and unmoving as always. Trini’s mask snapped back into place as the six Rangers turned to look. A door opened. 

“What?” Daisy held back a gasp as the figure stepped into the light. 

“Rangers, my name is Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D,” he held up a badge, taking off his sunglasses that seemed more than a little ridiculous to be wearing right now. “I’d like to talk to you, if you have a moment.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys liked part 2 of this AU! The response to We Can Be Heroes blew me away and I'm super excited to continue this story with y'all! 
> 
> (sorry about the cliffhanger but it felt appropriate) 
> 
> See y'all on the next one!


End file.
